Former USD Basketball Player Brandon Johnson Sentenced for Conspiring to Commit Sports Bribery

U.S. Attorney’s Office
March 01, 2013

Southern District of California(619) 557-5610

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that Brandon Johnson was sentenced today in federal court in San Diego by the Honorable Anthony J. Battaglia to serve six months in custody, followed by one year of supervised release, for his role in a conspiracy to commit sports bribery in connection with influencing the outcome of University of San Diego (USD) basketball games during the 2009-2010 season and soliciting a USD player to do the same during the 2010-2011 season. Johnson pled guilty to an indictment charging him with conspiring to commit sports bribery on November 15, 2012. To date, eight of the 10 defendants indicted have pled guilty.

According to court documents and admissions from co-defendants’ guilty pleas, Brandon Johnson, the all-time points and assists leader at USD, received bribe money to influence the outcome of basketball games during the 2009-2010 season while he was a member of USD’s basketball team. Utilizing Johnson, the conspiracy profited by placing bets at Las Vegas casinos on games Johnson influenced. Co-defendant Steve Goria, who was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment in October 2012, admitted that the conspiracy profited more than $120,000 from the game-fixing scheme. Johnson admitted in his guilty plea that during the 2010-2011 season, he solicited a then-current USD basketball player to influence the outcome of basketball games for bribe money.

Judge Battaglia ordered the defendant to report on May 31, 2013 to begin serving his sentence.

Defendant in Criminal Case No. 11CR1345-AJBBrandon Johnson

Summary of ChargesCount one: Title 18, United States Code, Section 371-Conspiracy